Failure to be bonded out led Sandra Bland to suicide, jail officials allege

Failure to be bonded out led Naperville woman to suicide, Texas officials contend

A Naperville woman whose death in a Texas jail was ruled a suicide was distraught because family and friends failed to post her bond after her arrest during a traffic stop that turned contentious, attorneys for the jail contend in a new court filing.

Attorneys representing Waller County, Texas, filed a motion in federal court Wednesday asking that a lawsuit filed on behalf of Sandra Bland's family against two jailers be dismissed.

Family members say the jail was negligent in its treatment of Bland, 28, an African-American who authorities say hanged herself three days after an altercation with a police officer that spotlighted attention on confrontational interactions between police and minorities.

The new motion contends jailers followed protocol, including a suicide screening, when Bland was booked into the jail, and that Bland took her life after she was unable to raise the $515 she needed to post bond.

"It is apparent now that Bland's inability to secure her release from jail — and her family and friends' refusal to bail her out of jail — led her to commit suicide," the motion said.

"I think it's amazing that they said that," Chicago attorney Cannon Lambert, who represents Bland's mother, said Thursday. "I'm not sure how they can say that without having taken my client's deposition."

Lambert, who this week filed a motion seeking more evidence and information from Prairie View, Texas, police about the incident, called the jail's motion "extremely premature."

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Sandra Bland, in a photo from her Facebook page.

Sandra Bland, in a photo from her Facebook page.

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Bland was stopped July 10 in Prairie View by a police officer for a minor traffic violation. The stop escalated, though, into a physical confrontation that led to Bland's arrest. Three days later, jailers say, she used a plastic bag to hang herself in her cell.

Lawyers for the jail argued that jailers followed proper intake procedures when Bland was incarcerated.

"In this case, (the jailers) conducted suicide screenings of Bland, and she indicated she was not suicidal," the motion said. "She disclosed a prior suicide attempt, but based on the totality of the circumstances, including Bland's demeanor and the charges against her, (the jailers) did not find her to be suicidal."

The jail allowed her to make several phone calls in an attempt to raise bond, including to a Texas man with whom Bland had been staying, "but it appeared he was intentionally ignoring her calls," the motion said. Bland also contacted a bail bondsman, who, the jail said, contacted Bland's mother and other relatives.

"However, none of her friends and family provided the approximately $515 necessary to bail her out of jail," according to the motion.

Meanwhile, Lambert's motion asks the court to compel local police to turn over all information related to Bland's case, including some jail videotape.

"Cleary, it makes sense to leave no stone unturned," he said.

Lambert filed a subpoena in October seeking police information and documentation. But, in response, attorneys for Prairie View argue that they should not have to comply because of what they say is an ongoing criminal investigation into Bland's death.

But Bland's attorney argues that the only apparent probe, a Texas Rangers inquiry into the circumstances surrounding Bland's arrest and death, do not constitute a criminal investigation, so Prairie View has no legal basis to withhold the information.

"If you're not engaged in a criminal investigation, you're not entitled to the privilege," Lambert said Thursday.

Lambert is asking the court to compel Prairie View to turn over its information or allow him to inspect the materials in the presence of the judge overseeing the federal complaint filed by Bland's mother, Geneva Reed-Veal. The matter is due for hearing Tuesday in Texas court.

The officer who stopped Bland was placed on administrative leave following her arrest and death. He is also a defendant in the suit filed by Bland's mother. Bland had driven to Texas to accept a position at Prairie View A&M University, the school from which she graduated in 2009.

A version of this article appeared in print on November 13, 2015, in the News section of the Chicago Tribune with the headline "Bland was distraught by lack of bond, jail alleges - Motion to dismiss suit argues insufficient cash led to suicide" —
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